Women feel ashamed because of thrush infection

Women who have vaginal thrush feel embarrassed to talk about it with their pharmacist. It is a condition that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.

According to Health 24 almost 75% of women suffer from vaginal thrush during their lives. Thrush is known to be an infection caused by a yeast fungus.

Around 40 to 50% suffer more than once. Bayer has conducted a recent study of attitudes and perceptions about thrush and discovered that most women viewed it as a serious ailment, but also were embarrassed by it.

A study was conducted on women aged 21 to 45 years of age, currently residing in Gauteng. The results showed that:

86% of women viewed it as a serious condition

56% of women said it was an embarrassing condition

Only 5% of women spoke to someone about it the first time they experienced symptoms of thrush

Every woman mentioned negative feelings linked with vaginal thrush:

One woman said, “I feel violated because I don’t deserve to have to suffer from this. I am doing everything right”

Women noted feelings of irritability, misery, anger, aggravation, frustration and stress. Everyone knew how to explain what the symptoms of thrush were, even if they did not know what it was. Some embarrassment was connected to not being able to explain the symptoms. Having to speak with a pharmacist about thrush. One in four women tried home treatments when they first suffered thrush. Most women tried to wash, clean and disinfect themselves. Others switched from bathing to showering twice a day. Other women tried using Dettol, Savlon, salt water, steam, bi carb, intimate wash and feminine wipes.

There are many thrush cases that do not have an obvious reason. It's not always caused by sexual intercourse. It can be due to a pH imbalance, this could be due to hormonal changes like: pregnancy, menopause, menstruation, antibiotics, stress, perfumed soaps, shower gels and wearing tight clothing.

Women need to be aware of the symptoms of thrush so they can get them treated as soon as possible.